Our Top Ten Weaning Tips

Tiny Roo’s Top Ten Weaning Tips

  1. When you start to wean, breast or formula milk should still be the most important part of your babies diet. 500-700ml of milk will still be needed daily (up until your little ones 1st)
  2. When trying solids for the first time the best time to start is when you little one is not too hungry or tired. Just after a lunchtime milk feed for example.
  3. It can take 10 tries or more for babies to accept new foods and textures and this might increase as they get older and enter the ‘fussy eating’ stage. So don’t take it personally if your little one refuses to eat the meal you just spent 30 minutes preparing!
  4. Encourage your little one to start try drinking from a cup from 6 months old. Dieticians and dentists recommend babies start to learn to drink water from a cup from six months old. They can start drinking water from this age whether they’re breastfed, formula fed or fed a combination.
  5. Don’t be scared to add flavour! You can introduce herbs and spices when you begin to wean. Start with a pinch and build up. It is best to use ground spices and try to avoid supermarket spice blends, as these tend to contain added sugar and salt.
  6. Freeze, freeze and prep. When you start weaning you will notice that you don’t need a lot of food so it makes sense to freeze the leftovers. Ice cube trays work great to start with and then you can slowly build to larger, small tubs. Another good tip is not to go over board with the prep equipment. You don’t need an all singing or dancing food processor - a hand held blender works great!
  7. Try to eat with your little one at least once a day. Babies are like little sponges and this will give them a chance to copy you and learn how to eat.
  8. Prepare for allergic reactions as babies faces are very sensitive. If your little one (like mine) suffers with food allergies you might want to think about how to combat this. A paediatrician friend of mine recommended that if you little one has a reaction to foods like strawberries you can cover their face with a barrier cream like Aquaphor before you start to help protect their little face.
  9. One vegetable a day. Research has found that babies who are introduced to vegetables first are more likely to like eating vegetables when they grow into older children. Giving different single vegetables at each meal seems to be key to this success. Repetition is also important though as you want your little one to get used to different types of vegetables. Some people also suggest you try bitter vegetables first like: broccoli, asparagus and spinach as these tastes will be harder for your baby to get used to.
  10. Weaning is messy (even if you do have suction bowl and plates like ours!) Babies will throw and smear food everywhere so you might want to get prepared with bibs, mats and perhaps even a floor mat. Our top tip is to keep the highchair away from any surfaces with cloth and walls. (Or be ready to repaint!)

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